Completed Projects

These projects have been completed and are no longer being directly funded by TGIF.

Mapping EJ

Project Description

At UC Berkeley, over a dozen organizations (both departmental and student-led) work on waste-related issues. Until 2019, collaboration and communication among them was minimal and ineffective. The Zero Waste Coalition was established in Fall 2019 to allow for successful collaboration among organizations and to mobilize educational campaigns reaching over 5,000 students. Strong leadership within the zero waste community is vital to its continued progress, and the creation of the Zero Waste Fellow position (similar to Carbon...

The Team Writers Program at the Leaflet

Project Description

As the only undergraduate student-run environmental publication in the University of California system, The Leaflet has broadened its mission to cover a wider array of environmental subjects that pertain to both local, regional, and global communities. This funding will allow The Leaflet to financially support its writers and, as a result, benefit both the publication and the Berkeley community.

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Cal Enviro Water Treatment

Project Description

Cal Environmental Team (Cal Enviro) is a Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) competition team and DeCal. Our mission is to impart the fundamentals of wastewater treatment and sustainable engineering design, provide hands-on laboratory and construction experience, and opportunities for students to improve their public speaking and technical writing skills.

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Zero Waste Fellow

Project Description

At UC Berkeley, over a dozen organizations (both departmental and student-led) work on waste-related issues. Until 2019, collaboration and communication among them was minimal and ineffective. The Zero Waste Coalition was established in Fall 2019 to allow for successful collaboration among organizations and to mobilize educational campaigns reaching over 5,000 students. Strong leadership within the zero waste community is vital to its continued progress, and the creation of the Zero Waste Fellow position (similar to Carbon...

Capturing Energy Savings from VAV Box Minimums

Project Description

This project will move the campus towards carbon neutrality by reducing campus energy waste and the associated emissions, by reducing minimum airflows without changing the amount of ventilation (fresh) air entering the building.

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Project Application

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Autoclave Replacement

Project Description

Proposed funding for this project will aid continued student research throughout the following academic year. Through an in-depth evaluation of the outdated autoclaves housed in the Life Sciences Addition (LSA) building, findings have since spurred a broader discussion among other campus labs and a desire to continue research on behalf of future sterilizer upgrades based on their autoclave needs.

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Residence Hall Education Program

Project Description

To continue the momentum of zero waste in Residence Halls after the bin system was implemented in 2015, the Residential Hall Education Program will aim to close the gap between our current progress and our zero waste goal. This project will develop an educational program to aid students in beginning to understand the basics of the zero waste. This program will focus not just on how to live a zero waste lifestyle, but also why it is important from a regional and global lens. Education at the start of students’ UC Berkeley experience will set the stage for...

Clark Kerr Rain Garden Community Garden Project

Project Description

Our focus will be on the Building 2 Courtyard at the Clark Kerr Campus. Currently, because of poor landscaping and irrigation, water is constantly flooding directly into the entrance of the building and off into the street. Recently, an orchard was planted in the courtyard; however, when it rains, the water flows directly down the side of the building to the door, rather than to the newly planted trees. It is vital that this area be modified, not only for functionality, but for sustainability purposes as well.

Please note due to permitting challenges...

Coastal Terrace Prairie Restoration

Project Description

UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station (RFS) contains the last intact, undisturbed native coastal terrace prairie adjacent to the San Francisco Bay shoreline. This prairie contains native bunchgrasses, “the old growth at our feet,” which are possibly thousands of years old. These seventeen acres of ancient, biodiverse prairie contain a rich community of native grasses and forbs (wildflowers), including a rare stand of slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus). UC Berkeley recognizes the value of the prairie, with portions protected for teaching and research....

Earth Action Initiative

Project Description

Our vision is to foster a community of people on and around campus to take direct climate action, and help reduce the barrier to action for others. The goal is to demonstrate meaningful climate action is possible, especially for students and community members, and provide a roadmap of how that can happen. To execute the Earth Action Initiative vision, EAI will organize a variety of events and actions that build community, leverage existing efforts, inspire new plans, and find innovative ways to communicate with each other. The work throughout the year will...